Mid-section, Istanbul

(I know this is way overdue....I've been home over two weeks now!)

The midsection of my time in Istanbul was just as busy and enjoyable as the first few days. On Friday, Baris and I headed to Büyükada, the largest of the Prince's Islands. It was a nice boat ride out, and it took about an hour and a half.

On the ferry to Büyükada

 We were interested to see what the island was like, as we knew there were no motor vehicles allowed. The main methods of transportation are horse and buggy, bicycle, and feet, of course! We'd been given conflicting reports as to the status of the horses on the island. One source had told us to expect a certain manure stench to emanate from the island, while another claimed that the real horses had been replaced by electric horses. I know, this seems an unlikely story, but our source (Arda) insisted he had heard that the carriages were now being drawn by some sort of fake horse. I can't describe our anticipation as we approached. I mean, an area with no cars is interesting enough in itself, but to think we might actually see electric horses...Istanbul was getting wilder and wilder for me. :-) Baris was on high alert as the boat docked. He says that he stared intently at the first couple of horses he spied, just to see if there was an ear twitch or tail flick. And there were both twitches and flicks coming from the real-life horses harnessed to carriages. What a disappointment...no motorized horses. So, we opted for a real horse and buggy ride. We jumped on and headed into and up the island. The goal was a monastery perched high on the island's peak. The buggy only took us most of the way there, and we still had a one kilometer high (pretty much straight up) to see the monastery. It was tough going in the extreme heat, but we made it to the top and spent more than a few moments enjoying the amazing views.

Buggy-ing it up

VERY sweaty at the top

We rewarded ourselves with a lovely lunch and some lokma (deep-fried dough balls, yum!) before grabbing the ferry back to Istanbul. And now for another cultural aside. Let me tell you about the stray dogs and cats in Istanbul. They are everywhere! You cannot walk five minutes without seeing at least three cats. In this heat, they were usually lounging in odd positions on stairways, sidewalks, and patches of grass. (How uncatlike of them, I know.) The cats were never a problem for me, save the one who quasi-pounced on me during dinner one night. No harm done, but I sure yelped. :-) The dogs were a little more intimidating, and there were a few moments when Baris and I had to steer clear just in case they were unfriendly. Apparently the city's process for fixing and vaccinating the dogs is quite efficient and effective. I escaped unscathed by the animals, and I will admit they add a certain something to the wildness of Istanbul.

Baris and Arda. Apparently neither of them can smile like normal boys. 

Out for soggy hamburgers (so good!!) and yogurt/water/salt drinks.

That night we met up with Arda again, and we definitely let him know he had some faulty info regarding the status of horses on the island. He swears he wasn't pulling our legs, but I'm not convinced. :-) We spent the evening enjoying some food and drinks, of course, and somehow we ended up at a reggae bar. That's a first for me. "Rasta Cheryl" was unleashed. Must say I never imagined I'd be doing it up reggae style in Turkey. The surprises just keep coming!

Saturday was a pretty chill day. We slept in and then headed to the mall. The highlight was eating Iskender, a mixture of melted butter, tomato sauce, thinly sliced beef, melted butter, yogurt, melted butter, bread and melted butter. Did I mention the melted butter? It was delicious, although I think it took me a week to digest the meal. I joked with Baris that I'd have to claim a pound of butter at customs on the way home. This was one of my favourite dishes, but I don't think I could manage it too often (without looking like a pound of butter, at least).

Me and my Iskender....

Back at home Baris' mom, Suheyla, read our cups. The tradition is to enjoy a lovely cup of Turkish coffee, then you turn the cup upside down on the saucer and let the grounds cool. Suheyla examined the pattern of grounds on the sides of the cups, dumped the grounds from the plate back into the cup, then looked at the plate. It was really interesting, and we'll see if any of her predictions come true. (I can't tell you what Baris' future will be like; they spoke in top-secret Turkish for his reading. :-))

That night we headed out with a whole gang of B-man's friends for some drinks. Dinner wasn't really on our minds as we were still stuffed from our lunch. We spent a few hours enjoying a rooftop terrace, and then stopped for some soup and Turkish pizza on the way home. While we were slurping away at our soup, I said "yum yum", and Baris informed me that that means cannibal in Turkish. Hmmmm... This prompted me to poll the group to determine what one says (or grunts or moans or utters) in Turkish when something is delicious. I was surrounded by six Turks who all thought deeply for a moment and then performed their unique variations on "Mmmmmm..." These involved some stomach patting or rubbing, some head bobbing, some smiling. It was a great moment. It's not very often you see six people making the same gestures while going "mmmmmm." It made me laugh hysterically.

Some of the gang...Baris has known most of them since elementary school. 

We hopped in a cab, and I instantly started complaining. I was so tired and just wanted to be in bed! It was after 4, and my collective exhaustion was at a high. Baris let the cab driver know our destination and we sped off on what should have been a 20 minute drive....but ended up being about three times as long. The road we needed was closed for construction, and the taxi driver wasn't sure of another route, so he just started driving. This might be an effective approach in a city where the streets are parallel and perpendicular to one another, but it wasn't getting us anywhere in Istanbul (or rather it was getting us everywhere in Istanbul, except for home). You should take a look at a map of Istanbul....it looks like a giant plate of spaghetti pre-sauce. We finally realized the driver had no idea where he was going. Baris convinced him to stop and ask for "directions"; this happened at least three times before we arrived anywhere near our destination. As soon as we were close enough to walk we paid the driver and leapt out of the cab. We still had a 15 or 20 minute walk, and I recommenced my complaining. I think Baris was slightly annoyed (but not really), as he threatened to turn me over to the police or feed me to the dogs or give me to the spirit of Atatürk if I didn't stop. We FINALLY made it home at about 5:30 and I was out like a light.

On that note I'll quit for this post....and save the final two days for a final post!

TTFN

Days 26 & 27, Istanbul: Sensory overload

I have no idea where to begin or how to describe my first couple days in İstanbul. As I've been chatting with people about my travels, I usually get asked what I think of the cities I've visited or the city I'm in. I'm discovering that this is not an easy question to answer. My impressions are disjointed, and any adjectives I try to use just don't work. This is most apparent for İstanbul. So I'm stuck reporting the facts and attempting to turn my experiences into words. Hopefully I can articulate some fragments of my thoughts in the next few entries.

Side note:
I was just explaining this sentiment to Barış and he told me of a Turkish expression that suits this perfectly. Anlatılmaz yaşanır. This means: it is not explained, it is lived. A fitting expression for this city as far as I'm concerned.

Wednesday began with breakfast at home. I was so sick of eggs that the spread of cheese, olives, tomatoes and bread instantly made my mouth water. Our first stop of the day was going be Boğaziçi University to visit Baris's uncle Bülent. The walk was a tough one, so it was a good intro to the hill climbing one has to do to get around in this city. On the way I caught my first real glimpse of the Bosphorus and the higgeldy-piggeldy skyline that is İstanbul.

My first good look at the Bosphorus (Boğaz meaning "neck" or "strait" in Turkish)

We arrived at Boğaziçi sweating. After a refreshing Turkish coffee in Bülent's office we headed for lunch. The campus is lovely. The paths and roads are twisty and surrounded by trees and plants and flowers. We had a nice lunch and then Baris and I continued on our adventure.

After lunch we descended to the coast of the Bosphorus to walk along the water. We saw some impressive boats and walked through many different neighbourhoods. (And we stopped for a coffee at the Starbucks with the best patio in the world.)
 I'll take this opportunity to comment on the expertise of my guide. Before we left Ottawa, B-man kept telling me that he didn't know that much about  İstanbul. Well, he was lying. Throughout the trip he's been regularly giving historical context, explaining important dates, events and figures, and providing me with a complete cultural education. On this particular day, my knowledgeable guide announced each new neighbourhood we came upon, explained its name, pointed out the key sights, and provided insight into the socio-economic situation both now and in the past. Honestly, I'm blown away. He gives some credit to Bülent, as his uncle used to educate the kids on their surroundings when they were visiting. Regardless, it was both more informative and more enjoyable than any other tour could've been. Thanks, Baris. :-)

Next we headed to Taksim (a popular shopping, eating and drinking neighbourhood) to meet up with Göksenin (Céline) for a couple drinks. She took us to a hidden rooftop patio with a great view of the Galata Tower. We then met her husband, Cem, at a meyhane (a type restaurant, the word means "alcohol-erie") for fasil (a meal with rakı and live music). We spent hours eating appetizers, our main course and some fruit for dessert. The whole thing was so interesting for me, especially as we were sitting on a busy street and the people watching was good. One source of entertainment in this area is the salesmanship of the restaurateurs. Each meyhane has a man who stands on the street and tries to recruit diners. It was curious to see which ones pegged me for a local by addressing me in Turkish and which ones knew I was a tourist and spoke to me in English. (Another story about these men later.) At dinner we made friends with our neighbours, a couple from England. Seeing them trying to decipher the menu and order some food gave me a new appreciation for my more "authentic" Turkish experience. Travelling with locals is definitely the way to go.

It was so great to see Göksenin and I was again overwhelmed by her and her husband's kindness and generosity. Turkish hospitality is something else. :-)

The spread of food during our first course.....wow. SO much and SO good.

The other source of entertainment for me throughout the trip has been the number and variety of street peddlers. After a couple of days wandering the streets I think I can safely say that there's nothing that can't be bought on the streets of İstanbul, at midnight. Seriously, you can find it all: perfume, belts, wallets, food, clothes, mops and brooms. Two of my favourite vendors deserve some special attention. Regrettably I have photos of neither. The first one is absolutely ridiculous. As we were sitting enjoying our coffee with Göksenin, a man walked by with a cart that displayed what looked like ID cards. I didn't think it could be possible that he was selling ID cards, or that you might get him to take a photo for an ID card, so I asked my Turkish friends to solve this mystery. Turns out he's a mobile laminator. Yes, you read me correctly. He walks around the city fulfilling all of your lamination needs. What?! How bizarre! (Barış also told me about mobile letter writers who, on-the-spot, write official letters for citizens to acquire documents etc. from the government.) Fascinating! My other fave was an old man walking through Nevizade (the bar neighbourhood) wearing those silly large sunglasses and selling blinking headbands and flashing toys. The best part about him was his very serious face. He was totally deadpan, and the expression paired with his glasses was just too much for me to handle.

Our cab ride home was luckily uneventful (not all would be), but Barış did pick up an interesting tidbit from the driver. They were discussing the taxi business in İstanbul and the driver told him that a taxi licence cost one trillion lira (about 550 billion Canadian dollars). Insanity. (I picture Dr. Evil....550 billion dollars...hahahaha...) B-man told me this when we got out of the cab, and we managed to reason that this number did not take into consideration the recent (2005) redenomiation (i.e. removal of six zeros) of the lira. Still, that would make the cost one taxi licence $550,000 Canadian. Pretty wild, especially considering the number of taxis on the roads.

We had a semi-slow start Thursday morning. There weren't too many things on the agenda, but it was going to be a big day for me - my first trip to Asia! We had breakfast at home then took a minibüs to catch a boat across the Bosphorus. But before I describe my afternoon in Asian İstanbul (a small part of Asian Turkey or Anadolu), I will provide a mini-overview of the numerous forms of transportation in this heavily populated (13 million people!) metropolis.

İSTANBUL TRANSPORTATION MINI-LESSON

The taxi cab. Pretty self-explanatory, and pretty similar to those you've most likely taken anywhere else in the world. One nice thing about cabs here is that they are EVERYWHERE. In fact, they are so numerous and so keen for business that they also recruit you. The drivers honk at you as you're walking, just so you know they're there. This honking is constant; anytime you're a pedestrian and cabs are going by they will honk. It definitely took me by surprise the first couple times, but after a few days I almost got used to it. The other good thing about cabs in İstanbul is that they are relatively inexpensive. A cab ride would cost about half as much as it would in Ottawa or Toronto. As such, we took a number of taxi rides. :-)

The bus. Boring, we didn't take it, I'm glad because they were ALWAYS jammed full of people (and probably full of BO as well....).

The minibüs. The minibüs is a small bus that can hold about 15 or 20 people. They travel along predetermined routes, and passengers have to flag them down to get on and ask them to stop to get off. They typically travel between major transportation/bus/metro hubs. An average ride is about $0.50 to $1.00. We used this mode of transportation quite frequently.

The dolmuş. The dolmuş is kind of like van taxi and travels like the minibüs, along set routes. A dolmuş can carry about seven to ten passengers. Dolmuş drivers are known for their wild maneuvers and their violence. We only witnessed this once, and luckily we were bystanders and not passengers. There seemed to be a minor fender bender, and the drivers leaped out of their vans and quickly started beating each other up in the middle of the street. It was really scary to see. (This is apparently more frequent during Ramadan, as the drivers are hot and hungry and tempers flare a little more quickly.)

The metro. Very much like a typical metro, but a little newer. I was quite surprised at the cleanliness of the stations and the trains. I also enjoyed the air conditioning. I wish people didn't have to put their arms up to steady themselves. (Can you tell it's been hot? Haha)

The tram. We only took the tram once. It's like a fancy street car. I'm getting bored of writing about public transit.

The funicular. The funicular, as do most funiculars, travels uphill from the Bosphorus to Taksim. We climbed the hills on foot once (on Wednesday), but subsequent ascents took place on the funicular. Phew.

The vapur. The vapur is a passenger ferry (no cars) with the carrying capacity of a small town (1,500). None of the vapurs we took were ever that packed - thank goodness! We took the vapur a couple of times. I have to say that it's my favourite mode of transportation, as the sea breeze and views are delightful.

Summary: There are a lot of ways to get around this city, and often times one mode just isn't enough. We usually used about three different ones in a day and sometimes three modes to get to one destination. Traffic is always bad, cars are always honking. Basically, if you're driving a car, and you're stuck in traffic and not moving, you honk to let everyone else know that you're not moving (because that will make a difference?). Insanity. Oh, and the roads have no lanes. It's not that people don't pay attention to the painted lines....there often are no painted lines. Traffic laws are just "suggestions." Cars will never stop for pedestrians and there are virtually no crosswalks, so run for your life. The number of bridges and bodies of water make getting around even more hellish. Major roads get closed for construction with no detours. I could NEVER drive in this city.

This lesson has been brought to you by the letter ğ and the number 4. :-)

And now back to my adventures. Right, Asia! We took the vapur to the Asian side and strolled through the Kaldıköy neighbourhood. We visited the Süreyya Opera House, had a fantastic lunch and cruised Bagdat Avenue. Bagdat Avenue is in an upscale neighbourhood and has elegant shops lining the street. Here we ate  dessert at MADO, a restaurant specializing in ice cream (dondurma) from the city Maraş (hence the blend MADO). We pigged out and it was soooo good.

Tea in Asia.

Dessert at MADO. Ice cream and baklava. Yum yum.

In the evening we met up with B-man's friends Arda, Selen and Hande. It was so great to see him reuinited with his buds from elementary school. We, of course, ate lots, listened to some music and had a couple drinks. We were at another meyhane and the "recruiter" here was really entertaining. He spoke a ton of languages (Turkish, English, French, German, Arabic) and I think this worked to his advantage when trying to lure people in. His best line was in English: he repeatedly yelled "Here I am! Thank you!" as if everyone was looking and they'd finally found him. This one-liner became a running joke for the remainder of my time here.

I was exhausted at the end of the day, but ready for our adventures on Friday.

More soon and TTFN.

The Bosphorus

FUNicular. :-)

The old tram in Taksim.

One of many massive ships on the Bosphorus.

Nevizade - the "drinking/restaurant" area.

Day 17-23, Belfast & Dublin: Gurus and booze

I arrived in Belfast at about 3:30 am on Tuesday (July 24). It'd been a long haul from Moscow, with a three-hour layover in Riga and a 2.5 hour bus ride from Dublin to Belfast. I thought the bus would stop for some sort of passport control as we crossed from Ireland into the UK, but there was nothing. The only way I knew I was in a new country was the text from Bell welcoming me to the United Kingdom and listing the stupid expensive prices for calls and texting. How strange (and lovely) to move from one country to another so easily.
I found Baris fast asleep at our B&B. We somehow lucked out and actually got a whole house to ourselves, rather than a room in the B&B. It was about 4:30 by the time I fell asleep...not much rest before the big day!

The conference:
In the morning we headed to Queen's University for the first day of the conference. It was a decent walk; we paid a little less for our B&B, so we had a 30-minute walk to get to campus. We were pretty exhausted, but we felt like we couldn't skip out on the first morning of the conference. I zoned in and out for the first keynote speaker. He had a heavy Irish accent and was talking what seemed like nonsense. He'd intermittently pull out his penny whistle and play a little tune that somehow related to translation. Whatever. I spent the rest of the morning and lunch going over my presentation notes. I'd prepared everything before leaving, but I needed to make sure I knew what I was going to say. At this point I was feeling pretty good considering I'd only slept for four hours. Inevitably I started to get really sleepy right before my presentation. I managed to perk up, give my 20-minute talk and field a couple of questions. It went really well, I made some good connections and I was glad to get it over with in the first day.

Baris and I skipped out after my presentation and went in search of an Irish pub. This was not the easy quest we thought it would be. It could have been our lack-of-sleep induced delirium or just a seriously bad PhD moment, but we couldn't find a pub anywhere. (Really we were just looking in the wrong place.) Baris chose a great little spot for us to eat and we mowed down on our dinners and Guinness.

At dinner, Baris and I happened to notice that our pound notes were different. We were a little perplexed by this, as we both thought that a pound was a pound. I had UlsterBank bills, and he had Bank of England bills. We also acquired some Bank of Scotland and Bank of Ireland bills. I chatted up the man beside us at dinner, and he explained this currency cluster to us. Maybe this is fairly common knowledge, but B-man and I had had no clue. It seemed as though every bank just printed its own money. Stay tuned for the Bank of Baris notes. :-)

We spent the next few days at the conference and wandering around Belfast. Baris's presentation went extremely well, his topic was of interest to many, and he made some good contacts. The conference was nothing spectacular. Most people had no idea how to give engaging talks, and the majority spent 15 minutes providing background and five minutes blowing through the real content. A typical academic affair. :-)

We bought tickets for the banquet and definitely enjoyed the evening. The dinner took place in the beautiful Belfast city hall and was attended by no other than the Lord Mayor of Belfast! The impressive thing about him was his age: he was probably 35 but looked about 25. (This made both Baris and me wonder what we are doing with our lives.)

On Friday we took a Black Taxi tour of the murals in Belfast. These murals were painted by both the Protestants and Catholics during the Troubles and since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, do a quick search for the Troubles in Northern Ireland.) Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures with my iPhone to share right now. :-( The murals depict scenes of violence, images of those killed during the conflict, and scenes related to political prisoners. The most shocking part of the whole thing was to see and hear about how the Protestants and Catholics still live quite separately. There is still a giant wall dividing the city, although it is now the "peace wall." We joined thousands of others by signing our names in support of peace in NI and the world. At various points in the wall there are security gates you drive or walk through. Some of these gates are closed at midnight to prevent movement. (We also heard that some taxis will never go to the other side.) The taxi driver took us to a row of houses just beside the wall on the Catholic side. These homes had very small "backyards", and the yards they had were enclosed in metal cages to protect them from objects thrown over the wall. Wow. This whole experience was a little difficult to wrap my brain around. Yes, it has been about 15 years since the peace agreement, but I had to keep reminding myself that decades and centuries of conflict cannot be resolved overnight. Also, I had keep telling myself that the "Troubles" (a euphemism in my opinion) happened in the UK, in the EU, not in some far off place you only really read about in the news. Baris and I had many conversations about this. It definitely made me realize how little I know about the world and how much I need and want to learn.

Our time in Belfast was kind of a blur and we didn't really have a good opportunity to explore the city or the amazing countryside as much as we would have liked. This didn't upset either of us too much, as we'd already decided at point that we would definitely like to visit this gem of an island again. :-)

On Saturday we hopped on the bus and headed to Dublin. If I felt we'd failed as tourists in Belfast, then we did even worse in Dublin. As soon as I decided that I'd like to visit Ireland again, I gave up trying to pack in all of the sights. I was pretty tired from Russia and the long night getting to Belfast, so I shifted into full-on vacation mode.

After dropping out bags off at the hostel, we headed for some supper and a Guinness at The Brazen Head. This is one of the oldest Irish pubs and dates back to the 12th century! We had traditional stews and ate until we could eat no more. It was Saturday night and Dublin was jumping. We had purchased pub crawl tickets from the hostel, so we walked over to meet the other 50 or so people in the group. It was an interesting evening to say the least. Baris and I were some of the oldest people on the crawl. We had a good time observing the crowd and we felt as though we were narrating a National Geographic special on twenty-somethings in their natural habitat. It was a late night and I was exhausted, but we had the opportunity to see the craziness of the Temple Bar area on a Saturday night.

Sunday we got out priorities straight and headed to our first tourist attraction after breakfast: the Jameson Distillery. :-) I'm not a fan if whiskey, but the tour of the old distillery was very informative. We heard and saw how whiskey is made and then got a free drink (Baris had mine too). Our next stop was the Guinness Storehouse. Here there was no formal tour, but we got to wander around and read about the age old tradition of making Guinness. My favourite part was going up to the top floor for an amazing view of the city. We had a quick nap then spent the rest of the evening listening to some live bands. I love the music and it's so easy to find great music any night of the week.

On our last day (Monday) we took a free walking tour of the city. Our guide was quite the character and had many funny stories to share about the city. He was also knowledgeable about the history, literature and culture of Ireland and Dublin. Some of the highlights were:
The Irish version of lady justice. She's quite different from most portrayals as she doesn't have a blindfold, she looks towards the government (i.e. the old British government) instead of out at the people, and her sword is pointed out in an almost menacing way, rather than being tucked in safely.
Dublin's Millenium Spire. Our guide, quite sarcastically, told us that the city wanted to build a monument to show the world how great Ireland was. And they chose to build the world's tallest monument. The project was set to be finished in time for the new millennium; however, it wasn't unveiled until 2003. It really is a weird looking object (google it now!), and has many nicknames. My favourites are the pointless point, the needless needle...the rest are all a little too dirty to post here. :-)
Veronica Guerin monument. Our guide took us here as he feels this woman is one of the most important figures in Irish history. She was a journalist set on exposing the true side of the drug problems in Dublin. She talked to people on the streets in order to make sure the real story was getting out and not just the facts and numbers fed to the papers by the police. She got a little too close, though, and was killed (shot six times) while waiting at a red light. It's a very moving story, and our guide's appreciation of the situation made it even more meaningful.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the last of our time in Dublin before heading to the airport. We had enjoyed Ireland, but we were more than ready to escape the cool and rainy climate for some hot days in Istanbul. More to come soon!

Photos below are:
C & B at the Botanical Gardens in Belfast
A statue at Queen's (we've called it the "intellectual orgasm")
Botanical Gardens
Me and Baris outside Queen's University
An interesting sign
Me at Jameson Distillery
A street in Belfast
The Crown Pub, a "famous" spot in Belfast
B-man at the Botanical Gardens
Queen's campus
C & B at the Crown
B at the Brazen Head
Me at Botanical Gardens
Queen's University

Day 24 & 25, Travel and Istanbul

Our day started early. Actually it just never ended. We were set to leave Dublin on a 1:20 am flight. The night started off fine - we easily killed time at the airport. We landed in Riga at 6:10 am, and this is where the wheels fell off. Baris and I were hungry and thirsty. And the Riga airport is the worst place to be at 6 am and the most boring place to have a five-hour layover. The one café was closed, the vending machines only accepted Euro coins and we had none left. We somehow managed to survive the next couple hours sleeping on the uncomfortable metal chairs. The café opened at 9 and we finally got a drink. Luckily the flight was not fully booked so we had a little extra space to stretch out.

And finally, after about 14 hours, we arrived in Istanbul. Getting out of the airport was a breeze: there was no line for the visa, no line for passport control, no questioning by security, no wait for my bag. The airport appeared to be a well-oiled machine.

The gang was waiting when we exited the airport. Baris's mother, Suheyla, her husband, Mustafa, and his daughter, Ipek, jumped out of the car to give us hugs and kisses. I instantly felt welcome. I'd met Suheyla a few times in Ottawa, but it was strange to be seeing her here. We headed home for a quick bite and a long shower. As tired as I was, there was no way I could have fallen asleep in the car. I'm pretty sure I stared out the window, mouth gaping, the whole way home.

Dinner was amazing. This is no doubt one of the most enjoyable moments of my trip. Baris's aunt Nur, uncle Bülent, cousin Ocan and his girlfriend Agathe came over to visit and for supper. The food was beyond delicious. We were delighted to eat so many vegetables after a week of pub food. The company was delightful. The whole family was very welcoming and friendly. We discussed traveling, life in Turkey and family and friends. Although I was exhausted, I took a few moments at various points to sit and appreciate how fortunate I am to meet so many kind and generous people. The evening reminded me of the truly great moments in life. :-)

I headed to bed in a happy daze, ready for tomorrow, my first big day in the big city.

Day 16: Random Russian musings

Kim left at about 7 am this morning (July 23), which means I have a few hours to kill on my own before my long journey to Belfast. I honestly don't have the energy to tourist it up, and I wouldn't even know where to go as we've pretty much covered all of the highlights. So, for some me time, I headed to the nearby coffee shop to work on my presentation for tomorrow (ack!) and catch up on my blogging. I've been making a list of all the random topics I've yet to cover and today seems like the perfect day. But oh where to begin?

1. Food and drink
This seems like a good place to start as I'm now having my last beer and meal in Russia right now. At T.G.I.Friday's at the airport. I can see Andrea rolling her eyes. :-) Kim and I were pleasantly surprised with the Russian food. We were a little nervous we wouldn't enjoy much, but I think I speak for both of us when I say that most of what we had was good, even tasty. A couple meals stick out in particular: obviously the one cooked by our Russian hostess (see Suzdal blog), our first experience with pelmeni (meat or mushroom filled dumplings, a little like tortellini), the Georgian meal was a win for me, and also a random encounter with chiburekki (a fried turnover filled with veggies and/or cheese or meat, a national dish of the Crimean Tartars). I also had various beet and borscht soups, hot and cold. Yum. I've discovered a love for beets. Sorry I wouldn't eat them when I was younger, Mom! Another favourite of mine was beef stroganoff (it is quite popular). Kim was a fan of the blini, small thin crepes. We both were addicted to a pelmeni restaurant in SPb, we must've gone at least 3 times. I will admit we had one failed attempt to eat at McDonald's; our plan was thwarted by the mass of tourists in the Kremlin area who had the same idea. :-(
Dessert usually left something to be desired, but we were happy with ice cream bars and drumsticks. Kim enjoyed the occasional pistachio drumstick while I stuck to a more standard vanilla-ice cream-on-a-stick-covered-with-chocolate treat. Kim made a point of trying what we've been calling "Societ ice cream", basically a jam packed ice cream cone (photo below).
And beer. Nothing was particularly amazing, but if you bought it at the store the price was right. About $1.25 for a tall can of strong beer. My standard was Baltika 7. Most of the time I was just happy with something cold. As I'm sure you know, Russia is not famous for its beer, but rather it's vodka. I did indulge a few times, once in particular when our waitress strong-armed us into not one but two bottles.
One minor annoyance was the tap water....which we couldn't drink. Some of our hotels had free drinking water, but we did have to buy a fair bit of bottled water. Reminds me that I take a lot for granted in lovely Canada!
Overall, Russia passes in the sustenance department, solid and liquid. :-)

2. Washrooms
It's only logical this topic come next. Kim and I saw it all. The nice toilet, the hole in the ground, the toilet bus (yes, an actual bus), the port-a-potty (and even chicken in a potty on one menu). We only had to pay a couple of times, and it was cheap - about $0.75. The only thing I had a hard time with was remembering to not flush the toilet paper, but to throw it in the garbage can. And now that's enough on this topic.

3. Russian museum ladies
If you ever meet a Russian woman over the age of 40, from Moscow or SPb, you should ask her if she works at a museum. The answer is probably yes. I think half of the women in the country work at museums. And these ladies are tough! Who needs security when you have a frightening woman to yell at you in Russian for misbehaving. They sit in and patrol every room in the museum, making sure you have paid for photos, making sure you're not touching anything, telling you to get off your phone. We only had a couple run-ins with these tough brods. One was deserved as I foolishly touched a sculpture (it was an instinct). Kim got smacked by one in a church, but we have no idea why. She was minding her own business. The highlight was definitely seeing one flip out at a tourist in the Hermitage for touching a large egg suspended from the ceiling. Awesome. We did get harassed a couple of times for taking photos, but we just showed our pass and everything was ok.
The moral of the story? Mind your Ps and Qs and you'll be fine. :-)

4. Making change and buying things in general
Kim and I never mastered the subtle art of exchanging money in Russia. They seem quite particular about what kinds of bills and coins customers use to purchase goods. It's a little ridiculous. For example, Kim tried to buy a bottle of water that cost about $1.50 with a bill worth just over $3 and the lady refused. Somehow we managed, but it wasn't always easy.

5. Random and unattended metal detectors
This is another interesting mystery. We walked through a lot of metal detectors, in stores, the metro, train stations. Each time they beeped and nobody did anything. Hmmmm...what's the point of having them if they're not patrolled?

6. Wacky translations
There are a few examples below of the *many* funny translations we saw. I appreciate the effort of restaurants and tourist venues, but the results were quite often disastrous. This was an almost bottomless source of entertainment, especially for the translator in me. :-)

7. The "sexy" photo pose
And finally the sexy photo pose. Not sure that this is particularly Russian, but it sure was common. Girls everywhere were putting on their sexy expressions and striking their suggestive poses for the camera. And this was happening in the strangest places. I couldn't leave without one of these photos of myself, so Kim humoured me and took a photo of me in a (not-at-all) sexy pose in the Red Square on our last day.

Photos below:
Sbarro: creating tasty emotions? What does that even mean?
Live beer (draft beer, I presume)
Pelmeni at a place we frequented in SPb
Pelmeni on our first day. We were so hungry and it was so delicious.
The metro map
See the latte description for milk scum
Russian McDonald's
Mmmm beer
Beef stroganoff. Another delicious meal.
No touching. Or no high fives or low fives as Kim and I liked to joke.
Kim and Soviet ice cream
Random burnt out car
My sexy pose
Delicious beet soup
Clean up your dishes
At a coffee shop called Nice People
Chiburekki
The infamous Chicken Tobacco (no tobacco involved)
A typical washroom sign

That's it for Russia! Now begins the long journey to Belfast....
TTFN